> Continuation...
The wind stirred softly through the moving carriage, brushing past Jinn's cheek like a whisper. The cloak on her lap—it still didn't feel like hers.
She lowered her gaze, thumb tracing the embroidered edges without thinking. Every thread screamed someone else's name.
"This isn't mine… It never was."
"But… it didn't feel like staying either," she murmured aloud before she could stop herself.
The Grand Luminarch turned from the passing road to her. His eyes, quiet and steady, rested on her like someone trying to understand the weight she carried.
"Do you hate it so much? Being called the next Saintess?"
Jinn didn't meet his gaze.
She looked down, hands folded, voice small. "I just want to live in peace. As a commoner. Not… someone holy."
A long pause. Then, his voice—surprisingly warm.
"If that's truly what you want," he said, "I can give it to you."
Her head snapped toward him. "Really?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"With one condition."
"Of course. Always a condition.", inner voice
She exhaled slowly. "What kind of condition?"
"We need your help," he said. "As an envoy of the divine."
Her breath caught.
"Envoy… of God?"
He didn't answer right away. His eyes drifted toward the hills rolling by outside the carriage.
"When the Saintess ran, she took more than a title. She took a pillar that held the people's hope steady. We're not asking for someone to replace her… only someone to keep the bridge from collapsing."
"But wouldn't that still bind me?" she asked. "Won't I have to follow rules? Orders? I'm not made for that life."
He looked at her again.
"Who said anything about you becoming the Saintess?"
Jinn blinked.
"Then… what am I?"
"We'll call you the Envoy. No title of sainthood. You'll be free. You live where you choose, wear what you want, take missions only when needed. You are not under the Church—you're a light beside it."
Her shoulders loosened slightly. Not trust… but less weight.
"If that's the case…" she said softly, "I'll help. As long as I stay free. No robes, no cages."
"I swear it," he said. "On the name of the Church."
The words landed gently—but firmly.
Still holding the cloak, she gave a tiny nod.
Then she hesitated.
"Um… Your Holiness. About the thirty gold…"
He laughed, the sound low and amused, not mocking.
"You'll receive that and more. A proper contract—drafted under sacred binding. We'll register it. Even I can't override it. And if the Saintess returns? You're released."
She stared at him, unsure whether to believe it.
But… her chest didn't feel tight anymore.
The sunlight shifted across the road. Distant trees bowed in the wind.
She looked down once more at the cloak draped over her lap.
Still not hers.
But… it didn't feel like a prison anymore either.
Maybe just… borrowed.
The carriage rolled on. And this time, Jinn didn't look back.